Stephen King - didn't like Carrie, what are the others like?

I will be buying a kindle soon and want to stock up on book titles to download I've heard a lot of people recommending Stephen King but I started reading Carrie and didn't like it. I think it was the whole court room drama thing that put me off because I hate that kind of book anyway.

I'd like to read The Shining but have been somewhat put off SK books by Carrie! Anyone read both? are they similar?

Carrie is quite different to most of others and v much of its time, I think. It has dated more than the other early ones.

Deffo try The Shining, which is nothing like Carrie but by no means his strongest book imho.

Misery would be worth a try for somebody fairly new to him too and yes to The Green Mile. Or maybe The Girl Who Loved Tom Garden. These are all fairly short but instantly gripping I think - and are far removed from the more conventional horror of novels such as say, The Shining, It or Christine.

The Dead Zone is very good as is Needful Things; I remember enjoying The Dark Half and Cujo is good/scary!

Agree with those who say his short stories are excellent. Look at those works by Richard Bachman too - some very well-written stuff there, including 'The Running Man'. And of course if you've never read Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption but only seen the film, shame on you!

Among his more recent works, Duma Key is very good. Needful Things was also quite good.

Stephen King also has a book on writing that is aptly called On Writing, which I'm sure you will find interesting.

Misery was so boring that it made me miserable. Stephen King can make a story that takes place in a room interesting (remembering the one where the woman was left handcuffed to a bed) but that magic just hasn't happened in Misery.

Misery - boring? I usually agree with you but you've crossed a line now!!! What about when he starts losing the keys from his typewriter? Surely, for that to happen to a writer in itself is horrific enough to be not boring?

What's great about him though (and as this thread is already showing) is that his novels are so very diverse that there really is something for everybody within his back catalogue and that even his 'Number One Fans' and 'Constant Readers' will still find some they fail to enjoy, even as they love the man!

I was reading King from the early days as the Dead Zone, The Stand etc were being published up to the mid 80s. Then stopped reading horror for a while and apart from Misery and Rose Madden didn't read any of his books for years until Under the Dome came out. I have read Duma Key recently as well but do mean to go back and read some of the books I missed.

My favorites are The Dead Zone which I have read several times and Firestarter. I read both at a single sitting at the time. Unfortunately it takes me a lot longer to read nowadays. I don't get the time anymore and it took me months to read Under the Dome, although I did enjoy it.

If you've seen the film Stand By Me then you should read The Body which it was based on, just a short story but I really enjoyed it.

I liked his collaboration with Peter Straub on The Talisman.

Green Mile excellent.

As the others have said there is quite a lot of diversity in his books, but also when you've read lots of them you start to see little nods to characters/events in other stories and I found that spurred me on to read more of his stuff to see if could spot more.

If you didn't like Carrie then I'd bypass Christine, because i'd place them in the same camp to be honest.